Scotty:
Does KS ever show up within the first year of HIV infection, or is it something that shows up after the person has been infected for a longer period of time?

Thank you for your kind and patient responses.

Scotty:
Anyone?????

22 reads and no responses. Please help.

Andy Velez:
Scotty, have you been diagnosed with KS? Or are you self-diagnosing some spot(s) you have as KS and thereby backing into deciding you are HIV positive?

It would be unusual for KS to show up with the first year after transmission. But more to the point is have you had a risky incident and have you been tested for HIV?

Please clarify.

jordan:

I tested postive for Kaposi's Sarcoma in February when a swollen lymph node was biopsied and found to have tissue markers indicative of KS.

So it sounds like a might have been infected for years? From what I understand KS is not as common as it used to be...so does that mean I have an infection based on an early strain of HIV?

It's funny because the doctor removed the swollen lymph node and then just referred me to the infectious disease doctor to start HAART therapy. I'm just wondering if there is more cancer inside of me - no one ever said anything more to me.

jkinatl2:
KS is indeed much more rare nowadays than it was before HAART therapy. But for those who have had HIV for a long time, undiagnosed, it can indeed crop up.

Jordon, I hope you bring this conversation to the LIVING WITH forum, as there are many folks over there who have dealt successfully with KS (and with medical services that are unhelpful and incomplete). This side of the forum is mainly for people who have not tested HIV positive, and is based on transmission vector risk assessment and testing information.

To the original poster, I second Andy's queries. It's impossible to guess about KS. Outside the immunosuppressed population, it is exceedingly rare. However, it is NOT an "early" indicator of HIV infection. Research indicates that it is a product of a viral infection run amok, and as such usually takes years, decades of immunisuppression in order to manifest.